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Shinomori Aoshi
Shinomori Aoshi is the genius young leader of the Oniwabanshū onmitsu. Known to his followers as the "Okashira", Aoshi's skills in combat, stealth and information gathering are without parallel, but having missed his chance to gain glory for the Oniwabanshū during the bakumatsu, he led a group of his men in serving as enforcers for the wealthy industrialist and opium dealer Takeda Kanryū in the hopes of finding a new battlefield in the Meiji era. When Kanryū made himself the enemy of the legendary Hitokiri Battōsai, Aoshi believed that his long-missed chance to prove the superiority of the Oniwabanshū had finally come. Unfortunately, Kanryū's wicked deception and greed cost Aoshi's men their lives and the shame of being defeated and then rescued by Battōsai drove the Okashira to a new vow: he would defeat Battōsai at any cost in order to gain the title of "the strongest" and offer that title at his comrades' graves. Appearance Tall and lean, Aoshi is frequently described as being very handsome, with a long, youthful face and short black hair cut neatly in back but with a distinctive fringe of permed bangs falling in front of his face and parted in the center. In his earliest appearances, the fringe was more widely-set, exposing the entirety of his brow and extending outward, past his temples, but as he reappeared the style was gradually changed, becoming more close-set and less severe. Aoshi's most distinctive feature is his eyes, which are a piercing, ice-cold blue. For most of the series, Aoshi sports decidedly Western dress in the form of a deep blue, collarless short-sleeved dress shirt with a goldenrod trim, matching deep blue slacks and shiny black dress shoes. More distinctive still is his trademark coat - a long, sweeping trench coat of light tan with a ribbed goldenrod interior trim. He also wears deep blue, wide-mouthed fingerless gloves. After his trench coat is destroyed and his mind cleared by Kenshin, Aoshi displays his renewed allegiance to the Oniwabanshū by switching his slacks and coat for a shinobi shizoku worn over his dress shirt. His shizoku is similar in design to Han'nya's, carries the same deep blue and goldenrod color scheme as Aoshi's old outfit, but also is tied with an obi belt left in a long bow like Misao's. Personality At first glance, Shinomori Aoshi appears inhumanly cold and emotionless. He bears a calculating nature which shows itself in his high observational intelligence, a reticence to say more than is necessary and a demeanor that rarely shows emotion. He is said never to smile except when smirking with confidence in his supreme combat and tactical abilities. This long-standing confidence in his abilities has fostered in Aoshi a fixation with being the best and demonstrating his superiority as well as the superiority of the Oniwabanshū. Even from a young age, he lived for battle and has allowed the shame of being left out of the Bakumatsu in his youth to drive him toward combat in the Meiji era, not caring whom he has to fight or why so long as his opponent is strong and victory will bring glory to his Oniwabanshū. However, his icy and ruthless demeanor hides a deeply passionate and compassionate heart; even while ruthlessly completing a mission or securing a victory, he is able to feel sympathy for innocents who have been harmed or respect for an opponent's spirit, but keeps these feelings separate from his duties. In regards to his comrades, however, Aoshi's heart bleeds for their well-being and puts their happiness before his own without hesitation. After the Oniwabanshū splinters with the start of the Meiji era, he declines the solitary battles and prosperous positions within the new government in order to look after those of his subordinates with nowhere else to go; and after his onmitsu subordinates are murdered on his watch, he abandons his own very heart for the sake of honoring them with the "flower of being called the strongest". Shinomori Aoshi is a very quiet, intelligent individual. He never speaks when unnecessary and he always thinks before he acts. He seems to be unemotional most of the time, earning him the nickname of "that gloomy jerk" from Myōjin Yahiko. Aoshi only smiles once in the manga (excluding the weird smirk when he sees Kenshin cut a lamp post in two) and around eight times in the anime (though no one sees him do so). He does not show it, but he has a soft spot reserved for his friends and Makimachi Misao. Aoshi appears to be very cool and level headed when the readers and audiences first see him, although they see glimpses of his obsession to defeat Kenshin in a few scenes. After Han'nya, Shikijō, Beshimi, and Hyottoko die, and during the time Aoshi escapes from Kanryū's mansion, he seems to be in a shock, and his eyes have a shaded look, a conventional manga portrayal of depression, possession, or daydreaming. His intelligence and analytical skills are also well-honed evidenced from his display of narrowing the location of a mine below the water to a tenth of a degree and meter. Relationships *'Okina' - *'Makimachi Misao' - *'Himura Kenshin' - *'Myōjin Yahiko' - Abilities Aoshi is a grand master and Okashira of the Oniwanbanshou shinobi. Aoshi's weapon of choice is a kodachi, a sword that is described in the series to act like a shield because its light weight makes it easy to block with. He originally used only one of these short swords for defense outside of Kaiten Kenbu and relied mainly on kenpo for his offense, but later used a two-sworded style, employing a pair of the swords. When in their saya, they appear to be part of a single sheathed sword, one blade appearing to be the hilt, while the second blade is stationed opposite the first and blends in with the saya itself, giving it the impression of being a nodachi. A dangerous opponent, he uses his speed together with a mix of sword and hand-to-hand combat moves. His physical strength is extremely high, having once knocked Sanosuke out with one blow to the back of the neck (in the anime). Onmyō Kōsa: (Shadow-Light Cross) Aoshi blocks an enemies striking weapon with one kodachi, then strikes it with the second kodachi, thrusting the first one through. Jissen Kenbu: (Actual-Battle Sword-Dance) Combo attack using "Ryūsui no Ugoki" to flow around the enemy, confusing them with a constant change in speed. Aoshi will then strike from various points, slashing them with his kodachi, then ending it with "Kaiten Kenbu". Before deciding to use a two kodachi style of fighting, this was Aoshi's final attack. Though he is nearly impossible to hit during the Jissen Kenbu, he is vulnerable when he switches from a defensive to an offensive stance, a weakness exploited by Kenshin, and later Shishio. Kaiten Kenbu: ("Spiral Sword Dance" or "The Dance Of The Wheeling Sword") Aoshi claims to have used this attack to defeat "all who have intruded upon Edo castle". It involves Aoshi rapidly spinning around three times, while holding the kodachi backhand, to slash the opponent thrice in an instant. Aoshi usually uses this attack after disorienting the opponent with Ryūsui no Ugoki. Kaiten Kenbu Rokuren: ("Spinning-Heavenly Sword-Dance Six-Series" or "The Dance Of The Wheeling Sword Six Successions") This attack is Aoshi's ōugi. The attack involves Aoshi gripping his kodachi backhand, then slashing the opponent six times in rapid succession, from both sides (it relies on confusing the opponent on the direction from which each subsequent strike is going to come). It's basically Kaiten Kenbu but done with two kodachi. Onmyō Hasshi: (Dusk to Dawn Strike) Aoshi throws both kodachi at the opponent, hitting the end of the first one with the second one for an extra boost. The second kodachi is hidden directly behind the first, so the opponent would only see one kodachi heading for them in their line of sight. Gokō Jūji: (Yin-Yang Cross) Aoshi crosses the two kodachi and moves them outwards in a scissor-like cut. Ryūsui no Ugoki: (Flowing-Water Movement) This is moving technique where Aoshi moves around silently, rapidly alternating between fast and slow movements and confusing the opponent due to the fluid motion & continuously changing speed. It can be beaten by watching for the moment the user attempts to strike. History Shinomori Aoshi was raised a ninja of the Oniwabanshū, who worked for the Shogunate government during the Edo period. He helped to raise Makimachi Misao from childhood as a member of the Oniwabanshū. At the suggestion of Kashiwazaki Nenji (better known as Okina), Shinomori was given the position of Okashira at the age of fifteen, in time for the Oniwabanshou to defend Edo Castle. After the revolution, since a few members of the Oniwabanshū were unable to adapt to life in the Meiji era, Aoshi and these members worked for the corrupt, power-hungry business man, Takeda Kanryū instead. Aoshi's subordinates included Beshimi, who specialized in darts and poison, Hyottoko, whose name literally means "Fire Man" who breathe fire. Also were Han'nya, a skilled martial artist and deft ninjutsu practitioner, and Shikijō, a "muscle man". Development & Reception Nobuhiro Watsuki based Aoshi on Hijikata Toshizō, the deputy Leader of the Shinsengumi. There are most certainly versions of Hijikata portrayed in books and fiction; Aoshi grew out of the Hijikata who killed his gentler feelings and buried his human weakness. Watsuki describes himself as a fan of the other version of Hijikata. Watsuki describes that version of Hijikata, seen in Moeyo Ken (Burn, O Sword), as "a bundle of raw combat-instinct who keeps fighting until the very death." Since, according to Watsuki, the addition of the Oniwabanshū occurred during the "last minute," he found difficulty writing with him since he had not resolved a "concrete image" for Aoshi. Watsuki says that he used no specific design model for Aoshi. As the image of Hijikata grew stronger within Watsuki, the Rurouni Kenshin author added fringes (bangs) to Aoshi's design. Watsuki held a chance to change the hairstyle while compiling the edited manga, but chose not to edit the hairstyle, since he did not want readers to believe that "Aoshi was wearing a rug or anything." Watsuki said he originally intended for his design of "young Aoshi" to be used for another character. He says that many female readers liked young Aoshi. He described drawing Aoshi's fringes as "a pain." During the run of the Kyoto arc, Watsuki reported receiving a reader letter that said "I'll bet Aoshi is gonna be another one of those characters who just happens to be around to help Kenshin in times of need." The letter "kind of got to" Watsuki and he told himself that Aoshi is going to be a "bad guy." As a response Watsuki decided to make Aoshi an antagonist in the arc and fight Okina (Kashiwazaki Nenji), his former master. Category:Oniwabanshu Category:Male Category:Characters Category:Swordsman Category:Martial Artist